173
PROGRAMMATIC PIECES TURNED INTO  
A BALLET SCORE
THE MUSIC FOR THE BALLET THE TAMING OF THE  
SHREW CHOREOGRAPHED BY LÁSZLÓ SEREGI
JÚLIA FEDOSZOV
Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, Budapest
Izvleček: Madžarski koreograf László Seregi je 
leta 1994 ustvaril balet po Shakespearovem delu 
Ukročena trmoglavka. Z glasbenimi kolegi so 
uporabili enajst orkestrskih del Carla Goldmarka 
in jih sestavili tako, da se popolnoma prilegajo 
zgodbi, ki jo plesalci pripovedujejo skozi ples. 
Čeprav baletna partitura ne odraža skladatel-
jevega prvotnega namena, njeni izvirnosti ni 
mogoče oporekati.
Ključne besede: priredba, avtentičnost, Carl 
Goldmark, William Shakespeare, Ukročena 
trmoglavka
Abstract: The Hungarian choreographer László 
Seregi created a ballet based on William Shake -
speare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 1994. He 
and his musician colleagues used excerpts from 
eleven orchestral pieces by Carl Goldmark, cut 
and pasted together to fit perfectly the play as 
told through dance. I argue that although the 
ballet score does not convey the composer’s 
original intentions, its authenticity as a success -
ful theatrical piece is unquestionable.
Keywords: adaptation, authenticity, Carl Gold-
mark, William Shakespeare, The Taming of 
the Shrew
In the autumn of 1908 Isadora Duncan, one of the first and most influential modern dancers, 
gave a performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera House. She was accompanied by 
the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch, dancing to three 
movements of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony as well as to two preludes, a mazurka and 
a waltz by Chopin, all orchestrated. A review in the New York Times reads as follows:
[…] there will be much question of the necessity or the possibility of a physical ‘inter-
pretation’ of the symphony upon the stage. Nor did Miss Duncan make it appear that the 
music has spoken insufficiently for itself during the hundred years or so of its existence. 
If the contention is that, wishing to dance, and, finding no music of the kind she desires, 
she has taken it provisionally as a medium adapted for her purposes, there would be 
more to be said. But even then it seems like laying violent hands upon a great master-
piece that had better be left alone. And the same is applicable to the pieces of Chopin.
1
 
An earlier, Hungarian-language version of this paper was published as: Júlia Fedoszov, “Talán 
nem nagyon gusztustalan ez zenében: Seregi László A makrancos Kata című balettjének 
kísérőzenéje”, Magyar Zene 58, no. 4 (2020): 448–465.
1
 “Miss Duncan’s Dancing”, New York Times, 7 November 1908, 7.
Prejeto / received: 14. 1. 2022. Odobreno / accepted: 31. 5. 2022.
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, DOI: 10.3986/dmd19.2.09

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
174
Although critics disapproved of Duncan’s unusual choices of music, by dancing to classical 
instrumental pieces that had not been composed for dance or theatrical use, she actually 
opened up a whole new world for twentieth-century dancers and choreographers to come. 
As a Hungarian choreographer, Antal Fodor, wrote: “After Duncan it is impossible to 
create serious ballets to insignificant music”.
2
 But still, in the last decades of the twentieth 
century, some choreographers were accused of “laying violent hands upon” music.
László Seregi, later to be known as one of the greatest Hungarian choreographers, 
staged his first three-act ballet for the Hungarian State Opera House in 1968.
In setting Spartacus, Seregi slightly rearranged Aram Khachaturian’s ballet music.
3
 
Although the composer was angered by the fact that his piece had been altered, thanks to 
the Russian ambassador’s diplomatic skills the premiere was a success free from scandal.
4
 
In his first Shakespeare adaptation, the Romeo and Juliet of 1985, Seregi complemented the 
original Prokofiev score with other pieces by the composer, while in his 1989 creation of A 
Midsummer Night’s Dream Seregi added to Mendelssohn’s incidental music excerpts from 
the same master’s symphonies as well as some electronic interludes. Interestingly enough, 
the last-mentioned element did not upset the critics so much as the fact that Seregi had 
used some excerpts from Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” Symphony. As Seregi’s technician 
colleague László Schnitzler recalled, British reviewers found it especially disrespectful. 
Nevertheless, most of Seregi’s ballets were a huge success, running in the named Opera 
House for decades. Some of them were even staged on several continents and taught to 
ballet companies by Seregi and his assistant Ildikó Kaszás.
Seregi’s third and last ballet based on a Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew, 
was premiered on 11 June 1994. This time, Seregi did not have any type of ballet or inci-
dental music at hand. Before Seregi, The Taming of the Shrew had been set to the music of 
Domenico Scarlatti by Maurice Béjart and John Cranko, as well as to the music of Oldřich 
Flosman by Věra Untermüllerová. Seregi was searching for the perfect music for a long 
time. First, he considered using music by Auber, Rossini or Donizetti, but one day, while 
driving in his car, he heard on the radio an overture entitled Im Frühling (In Spring) by 
the nineteenth-century Austro-Hungarian composer Carl Goldmark (also Karl). As he 
recalled in several interviews, this encounter resolved the question of the music immedi-
ately.
5
 With help from the radio editor Gábor Kecskeméti,
6
 Seregi and his assistant Ildikó 
2 
Fodor, A koreográfia művészetének elmélete és gyakorlata, 8.
3 
Seregi’s method was not completely new. In 1939 Gyula Harangozó, an important predecessor 
of Seregi at the Budapest Opera House, made a choreography using Tchaikovsky’s Overture to 
Romeo and Juliet as well as other pieces by Tchaikovsky. Harangozó was assisted by the conduc -
tor Jenő Kenessey. See also: Körtvélyes, Művészet, tánc, táncművészet, 91.
4 
According to László Schnitzler, Seregi’s technician colleague. Here I would like to thank Peter 
Dala and László Schnitzler for the notes and interviews, Julianna Egressy for the ballet score 
and Szonja Stella for the video recording of the ballet, as well as Márton Karczag for the photo-
graphs. The recording of the ballet I used for my analysis was made in 2016, in the Hungarian 
State Opera House, for documentary purposes.
5 
K., “Beszélgetés Seregi Lászlóval”; Rajk, “Derűmet – ha fogcsikorgatva is – máig megőriztem”, 17.
6 
Imely, “Seregi László Shakespeare-trilógiája”, 38.

175
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
Kaszás listened to fifteen Goldmark pieces in the archives of the Hungarian Radio.
7
 They 
selected eleven compositions, listed below in their chronological order of composition:
1. Scherzo in E Minor, Op. 19 (1863)
2. Die Königin von Saba (The Queen of Sheba, opera), Op. 27 (1871)
3. Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit” (Rural Wedding), Op. 26 (1876)
4. Penthesilea Overture, Op. 31 (1878)
5. Symphony No. 2, Op. 35 (1887)
6. Prometheus Overture, Op. 38 (1889)
7. Im Frühling (In Spring) Overture, Op. 36 (1889)
8. Sappho Overture, Op. 44 (1893)
9. Scherzo in A Major, Op. 45 (1894)
10. In Italien (In Italy) Overture, Op. 49 (1903)
11. Aus Jugendtagen (From the Days of Youth) Overture, Op. 53 (1909)
On the basis of interviews I conducted with Peter Dala, conductor of the premiere, and 
the technician László Schnitzler, I will briefly describe how the ballet score was compiled.
While listening to Goldmark’s eleven selected works, Seregi decided which sections 
of the music were to be used for which scenes. According to a list made by Peter Dala 
of the sections of music, László Schnitzler copied the excerpts to tape, cutting and past-
ing many times. “They say he has used up three spools of splicing tape”.
8
 was Seregi’s 
comment on this phase of work in the film directed by Seregi’s son László Seregi junior 
about the making of the ballet.
Frigyes Hidas, Seregi’s composer colleague, then wrote several groups of bars of 
music to link the excerpts in their different keys. In the film he says he hopes no one will 
be able to tell where the Goldmark music ends and his own begins.
9
Dala played the snippets composed by Hidas on a synthesizer, Schnitzler recording 
and inserting them in their desired place. Seregi then used the assembled recording to 
choreograph the ballet in detail, as well as for rehearsals. (As Schnitzler pointed out in our 
interview, Seregi was one of the first choreographers to use orchestral recordings instead 
of rehearsals with a pianist, since he found that this helped the dancers to navigate within, 
and memorize, the music.)
Then the ballet score, too, had to be constructed. The excerpts that Seregi decided 
to use after listening to recordings had to be located among the Goldmark scores kept in 
the library of the Opera House. Peter Dala identified the corresponding pages and bars, 
and on the basis of his list the excerpted pages were then photocopied and placed in order, 
interleaved with the handwritten additions by Hidas. (A detailed list of the Goldmark 
excerpts as well as the bars Hidas composed especially for the ballet score can be found 
in the Appendix.)
7 
Rajk, “Derűmet – ha fogcsikorgatva is – máig megőriztem”, 17.
8 
Seregi, Seregi-Goldmark, 5´55´´.
9 
Ibid., 6´28´´.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
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Figure 1
Excerpt from Peter Dala’s handwritten list.
As Peter Dala’s remembers it, the huge task was even more complicated since 
there were changes right to the very end. Somewhere, for example, [Seregi] needed an 
additional bar of music, because there was not enough time for the dancers to make their 
way from one place to another. Sometimes, he asked that we repeat a group of eight bars 
[…]. He obviously had the music figured out in his mind before he started choreograph-
ing, but the actual mechanics of this [evolved in the meantime].
10
Seregi poses the question to Dala in the film: “It’s the introductory music for the pas de 
deux. It’s the bare minimum, so that the twenty extras can grab their stools [and sit down]. 
And this section should be repeated. It’s not disgusting in music, is it? Can you check 
whether it would be OK?”
11
 Seregi’s question illustrates his concern about the fine line 
between tasteful, musically well-functioning arrangements and a structurally detrimental 
misuse of music. (As if he wanted to reassure us: “no music was harmed in the making 
of this ballet”.)
With the next few examples I will illustrate the unity of music, drama and movement 
in The Taming of the Shrew. I will also demonstrate how excerpts from programmatic 
pieces used by Seregi either matched the ballet or could be transformed through choreo-
graphy and a new musical context to fulfil new functions.
For the prologue Seregi and his collaborators used the first thirty-one bars of the 
slow introduction to the overture based on and named after a play about the poetess 
Sappho. They had to transpose the music from G flat major to G major to make it tonally 
compatible with the accompaniment to the first scene, the C major tarantella section of 
the overture In Italien (In Italy).
In the prologue we see Shakespeare and the characters of the drama, who appear in 
his imagination. Sappho’s harp becomes here a symbol of Shakespeare’s craft. The role 
10 
Peter Dala, interview by Júlia Fedoszov, July 2020.
11 
Seregi, Seregi-Goldmark, 5´16´´.

177
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
Figure 2
A page from the ballet score.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
178
of the tarantella is structurally prominent: it provides a framework for the ballet, which 
is in two acts, each divided into two scenes, since it provides the accompaniment for the 
opening of the first scene after the prologue, as well as for the finale of both acts. In keeping 
with the title of Goldmark’s work – In Italien – Seregi uses the topos of the tarantella to 
place the action in Renaissance Padua by means of this fairly long, recurrent passage.
The symphony subtitled “Ländliche Hochzeit” similarly matches the play as regards 
its programme. The use of many of its excerpts, just as in the case of the overture In 
Italien, serves to create musical unity. Four of the five movements of the piece appear 
in the ballet’s music. Fragments of the first movement, a wedding march consisting of 
thirteen variations, appear in all but one scene of the ballet: a total of eight times. The 
variously solemn, playful and lyrical character of the variations also supplies variety 
within an over-arching unity: the fifth variation, for example, accompanies the dance of 
the bannermen in Padua; the sixth, the chase of Bianca and Kate; the eleventh, the lament 
of the bride Kate.
Figure 3
The dance of the bannermen (photo: Béla Mezey, Budapest Opera Archives).
Sometimes, however, the original character of the music becomes deliberately parodistic 
by virtue of the action and movements associated with it. The march from Die Königin von 
Saba, Act I, originally accompanied the entrance of the high priest, Baal Hanan, Assad, 
his armed guard and the people. However, Seregi choreographs the entrance of Bianca’s 
suitors, Hortensio and Gremio, to this music. One of them is thin and tall, the other short 

179
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
and plump; both are visibly much older than the bride-to-be; both are fops, comic figures, 
who emphasize their nobility with ceremonial gestures arousing general amusement.
There are many other instances of the use of recurrent themes, leitmotives if you will, 
to portray a character in the drama. Seregi and his colleagues could hardly have found 
a more fitting theme for the figure of the younger sister, Bianca, than the Bridal Song in 
the second movement of the “Ländliche Hochzeit” Symphony, which features specifically 
when Bianca interacts with her suitors.
Kate’s entrance is accompanied by the bellicose, pathetic and tightly rhythmic opening 
bars of the overture Aus Jugendtagen (From the Days of Youth), and then by later sections 
of the piece with a similar character. Given the title of the overture, in its original context 
this music might have been a reference to Goldmark’s personal experience of war in 1848, 
but it is equally convincing as a characterization of the feisty Kate. It is worth mentioning 
that within minutes the same music will be playing at the moment of Petrucchio’s arrival 
on stage, even if his actual entrance is danced to the third variation of the first movement 
of “Ländliche Hochzeit”, with additional repetitions. The first-mentioned music, which 
can be identified with both characters, is the earliest, but not the only, sign that in Seregi’s 
portrayal Kate and Petrucchio are equal partners.
Figure 4
Katalin Hágai as Kate in the premiere (photo: Béla Mezey, Budapest Opera Archives).

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
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Other extracts, however, appear only once in the ballet score, adding variety. The 
dramatic opening of Goldmark’s overture to Aeschylus’s Prometheus bound, which on 
the basis of its programme might seem a surprising choice in the company of the pieces 
mentioned so far, provides a good basis for the ironic portrayal of Kate’s confrontation 
of Petrucchio for the first time. A similar instance is the use of an excerpt from the over-
ture Penthesilea. Goldmark’s piece originally recounted the tragic love and death of the 
Amazon queen from Greek mythology. In the ballet, however, its final bars accompany 
Kate’s comic convulsion after being exhausted by her first, less than idyllic, pas de deux 
with Petrucchio.
The examples so far have mostly included music removed from its original context 
(programmatic as well as musical), so that we can no longer compare it with the neighbouring 
themes and sections in Goldmark’s work. In this respect, however, the accompaniment of 
the pantomimic wedding at the end of the first act constitutes an exception. Seregi used an 
excerpt from the Scherzo movement of Goldmark’s Symphony No. 2, the first thirty bars 
of the solemn Trio section with solo trumpet, to represent the church service. However, 
in the middle of the scene (when Petrucchio is looking for the lost ring) he needed some 
scherzando music, so he inserted a section of the main part as a middle section – thereby 
fashioning a somewhat abridged inversion (so to speak) of the original form.
Music example 1a
Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement III, main part. The excerpt was originally notated in 
C flat major because of earlier modulations in the piece, but in the music example the notation is 
simplified. The excerpt originally included horns, but since the notes they play exist in the other 
parts, I have omitted them.

181
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
Music example 1b
Excerpt from Symphony No. 2, Movement III, Trio
Seregi used the first twelve bars of the original middle section of the Trio in a similar 
context for the scene at Petrucchio’s home in Act II, where it becomes the music for the 
mealtime prayer, rounded off by a contribution from Hidas.
During the “taming process” of Act II Petrucchio orders new clothes for Kate, then 
rips them all off and chases the tailor away. This time, the events told through dance 
seem to follow the formal and thematic structure of the longer, uncut musical material of 
the orchestral Scherzo in A major. In common with other examples, this scene may raise 
questions about when it is music that becomes adapted to dance and when the reverse.
In stark contrast to the latter example is a four-beat section of Die Königin von Saba, 
which Seregi has imported into the ballet music purely as an effect. In the dance music at 
the beginning of the third act of Goldmark’s opera these four bars perform a transitional 
function. According to the instructions in the original score, during its performance a 
dancer, fearful and cautious, pulls away the veil in which a bee has become entrapped.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
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Figure 5
Zoltán ifj. Nagy (Petrucchio), Katalin Hágai (Kate) and Gyula Sárközi (tailor) in the second act 
(photo: Béla Mezey, Budapest Opera Archives).
Music example 2
Excerpt from Die Königin von Saba, Act III.

183
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
Seregi uses this short four-bar excerpt to accompany several moments of anticipation, 
and tension – on three occasions with minor changes by Hidas. At its first occurrence, 
with Petrucchio sitting in a tub and Kate bathing him, they tug at both ends of a towel, 
Petrucchio successfully pulling his reluctant wife into the tub. The second time we hear 
the four bars is when, in the final scene of the drama, the husbands bet on whose spouse 
is the most obedient. Accompanied by the four bars, Petrucchio’s servant Grumio checks 
whether the ladies who are being addressed come forward obediently at their husbands’ 
bidding.
Frigyes Hidas composed a total of 128 bars of additions, the shortest being a single 
chord, the longest, sixteen bars. Sometimes, Seregi had a definite idea about the rhythm 
of a passage that Hidas was to write. The example that follows (Music example 3b) was 
composed according to Seregi’s instructions.
12
A $ symmetrical arrangement of the @ asymmetrical main theme of Aus Jugendtagen, 
which after modification proceeds in straightforwardly quadratic (four-plus-four) units, 
was made at Seregi’s request for the solo of the handsome and well-groomed Lucentio.
Music example 3a
The main theme of Aus Jugendtagen.
12 
In Peter Dala’s notes: “A variation for Lucentio on the main theme of From the Days of Youth, 
rhythm as changed by Seregi … Freddie!!!”.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
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Music example 3b
The main theme of Aus Jugendtagen in Hidas’s arrangement.
In the last scene we find the only example of music that has been included in its 
entirety without any editing or modification, and also the only one that Goldmark originally 
composed for dancing. The second ballet movement, borrowed from the beginning of 
the third act of Die Königin von Saba, is the music of the ethereal Egyptian girls dancing 
with bees, wreaths of flowers and veils, as suggested in the libretto. In Seregi’s chore-
ography it accompanies Kate’s and Petrucchio’s final pas de deux. Seregi both replaces 
the original, charmingly trivial subject of Goldmark’s movement with a new one more in 
keeping with the richness of the music and uses this music to “transcend” the ending of 
Shakespeare’s comedy. Instead of a comically servile Kate dutifully preaching obedience 
and the overbearing Petrucchio celebrating victory, we see an equal woman and man who 
have earned each other’s love and respect.
After the premiere several reviews mentioned that the ballet music could be listened 
to as a new Goldmark piece.
13
 As Seregi said in an interview: “It is as if Goldmark had 
written his gleaming music yesterday for the libretto I wrote based on Shakespeare”.
14
 
He even declared that “the music performed on its own would be a special experience”.
15
 
When I asked Peter Dala for an opinion on that statement, he said that he believed it was 
possible to perform the ballet music also in a concert setting. But would this really work? 
More especially, would it need to?
It appears to me that Seregi and Dala here unconsciously sought to defend their 
work against a concept that has nothing to do with most theatrical music: one viewing the 
authentic musical work as a closed, individual, organic whole, the performance of which 
ought to reflect the intentions of the composer. In the case of Seregi’s ballet, however, it is 
more rational and productive to look at the score in combination with drama and mouve-
ment, as it was meant to be listened to. In that context and function it demonstrates a high 
13 
Pór, “A makrancos Kata”; László Bernáth, “Makrancos a csilláron”, Népszava, 21 June 1994, 
12; Edina Baráth, “Baletté álmodott Shakespeare”, Magyarország, 31 July 1994, 12.
14 
Rajk, “Derűmet – ha fogcsikorgatva is – máig megőriztem”, 17.
15 
Tamás Garai, “Makrancos Katarzis”, Kurír, 29 May 1994, 11.

185
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
level of artistic integrity, perhaps challenging the traditional definitions of authenticity 
that are based merely on the ideals just mentioned.
For Goldmark’s own thoughts on fidelity to the composer’s intentions, we might 
turn to his own memoirs. He deplored the arbitrary ritardandi and accelerandi of some 
conductors.
16
 But when he recalled how Liszt and Plotényi had performed his Suite, Op. 11, he 
wrote: “Indeed, I had never heard it like that. [Liszt] played many things differently, but he 
had a kind of divinatory vision of spiritual accents that are indescribable.”
17
 Unfortunately, 
we can no longer ascertain whether Goldmark would have found that “divinatory vision” 
in Seregi’s ballet as well.
Appendix
Table
Page num-
bering in 
the ballet 
score
Title of the Goldmark piece, original 
page numbering in the edition used by 
Seregi and his colleagues
*
The edition used by Seregi and 
his colleagues
Prologue 1–2 Sappho (slow introduction, 4–5, 
transposed from G major to G flat major)
Berlin: Simrock, 1894
1–9 In Italien (reprise, 41–49) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
10 2-bar transition by Hidas
11–17 In Italien (beginning, except first bar, 1–7) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
18 3-bar transition by Hidas
19–30 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, fifth variation (21–26)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
31 6-bar transition by Hidas
32–48 In Italien (1–16, except first bar) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
49 3-bar transition by Hidas
50–54 In Italien (21–25, with two bars deleted) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
55–59 Die Königin von Saba, Act I, March 
(40–42, repeated)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
60 8-bar transition by Hidas
16 
“Nun, so hatte ich sie allerdings noch nicht gehört. [Liszt] spielte manches anders, aber er 
hatte eine Art divinatorisches Erspähen seelischer Akzente, die man nicht hinschreiben kann”. 
Goldmark, Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben, 113.
17 
Ibid., 146–147.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
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Page num-
bering in 
the ballet 
score
Title of the Goldmark piece, original 
page numbering in the edition used by 
Seregi and his colleagues
*
The edition used by Seregi and 
his colleagues
61–67 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement II, Brautlied (75–81, to the 
end of the movement)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
68–70 Die Königin von Saba, Act I, March 
(40–42, without repetition)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
71 6-bar transition by Hidas
72–73 Aus Jugendtagen (3–4)
†
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
74 2-bar transition by Hidas
75–96 Aus Jugendtagen (7–11 [to rehearsal 
number 12], 38–42 [to rehearsal number 
33], 52–56 [from rehearsal number 38 to 
the end])
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
97–98 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement II, Brautlied (80–81, to the 
end of the movement)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
98 (last bar) Hidas, one chord
99–101 Die Königin von Saba, Ouverture 
(16–18)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
102 2-bar transition by Hidas
103–106 Aus Jugendtagen (3–4, repeated) Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
107–119 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, third variation (twice, 7–10, 
first bar; third time 7–11, to the end of 
the variation)
First time according to the original score; 
second time with variations in the Flute 
and Piccolo parts; third time according to 
the original score.
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
120 5-bar transition by Hidas
121–132 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement III, Serenade (cut: 82–88; 103 
[second line]–107, end of the movement)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
133 8-bar transition by Hidas
134–139 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, sixth variation (27–32)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
Table
(continued)

187
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
140–143 
(first half)
Prometheus (3–6, with cuts) Leipzig: Bartholf Senff, [1890]
143 (second 
half)
1-bar transition by Hidas
144–149 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement V , Tanz (157–162)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
150 8-bar transition by Hidas
151–166 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement V , Tanz (138–144 [first bar]; 
150–159 [first bar], with repetition)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
167 Penthesilea (the end of the piece, 83 [last 
10 bars])
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1879]
168–181 Sappho (in original key, 4–10, 37–38, 
40–44)
Berlin: Simrock, 1894
182–186 In Italien (36–40) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
187 (first 
half)
4-bar transition by Hidas (Goldmark’s 
music with small harmonic changes)
187 (second 
half)
Sappho (5 [second half], 12 bars) Berlin: Simrock, 1894
188–197 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement III, Serenade (82–91)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
198–201 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, eleventh variation (53–56)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
202 6-bar transition by Hidas
202 (last 
bar)–208
Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement III, Serenade (85 [last 
bar]–91)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
209–214 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, ninth variation (42–47)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
215–221 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement III, Serenade (101–107)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
222–223 Die Königin von Saba, the beginning of 
the prelude to Act III (254–255)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
224 3-bar transition by Hidas
225–231 Die Königin von Saba, Act III, 
Bacchanale (292–298), without choir but 
with a sound recording of bells
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
231 1 closing bar by Hidas
232–233 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, from Coda, “Etwas ruhiger” 
(68–69), with sound recording of bells
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
188
Page num-
bering in 
the ballet 
score
Title of the Goldmark piece, original 
page numbering in the edition used by 
Seregi and his colleagues
*
The edition used by Seregi and 
his colleagues
234–239 Die Königin von Saba, Ouverture, first 
scene (16–18, with repetition of 17–18 
[first three bars]; 19–21)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
240–241 8-bar rounding-off by Hidas
[242–243 
deleted]
244–245
Symphony No. 2, Movement III, the 
first 30 bars of the Trio to double barline 
(43–44)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
246–247 Symphony No. 2, Movement III, main 
part (41–42)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
248–249 Symphony No. 2, Movement III, the 
first 30 bars of the Trio to double barline 
(43–44)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
249 3 bars by Hidas rounding off the Trio
250–254 Sappho (60–64) Berlin: Simrock, 1894
255 2-bar transition by Hidas
256–262 In Italien (64–70, with repetition) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
263–277 
[269–274 
deleted]
Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I (Theme, first variation, 
second variation, first variation, 1–6), 
with sound recording of wind and 
thunder
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
[278–280 
deleted]
281–283
Symphony No. 2, Movement IV (first 
theme without introductory bars, 47–49)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
284–285 6 bars by Hidas (5 repeated bars plus a 
1-bar transition in a rhythm requested by 
Seregi)
286–290 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I, third variation (7–11, minus 
the last bar)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
291–293 Symphony No. 2, Movement IV (51–53) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
294–297 Symphony No. 2, Movement IV (48–49; 
62–63)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
298 Symphony No. 2, Movement III (12 bars 
of the Trio, 43)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
298 4-bar rounding-off by Hidas
Table
(continued)

189
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
299–302 Symphony No.1 “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement V (145 [last bar]–148 [third 
bar])
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
303 Symphony No. 2, Movement III (8 
bars of the Trio rounded off, in Hidas’s 
handwriting)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
304–316 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement V (145 [last bar]–148 [third 
bar]; 150–159, Andante section)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
316 Hidas, closing chord
317–346 Scherzo in E Minor, Op. 19 (43–50; 
2–20; 9–11)
Leipzig: F. W. Garbrecht, s.a.
tapping and clapping
347–358 Scherzo in E Minor, Op. 19 (43–54) Leipzig: F. W. Garbrecht, s.a.
359–371 Scherzo in A Major, Op. 45 (3–12 with 
cuts; 21–23)
Leipzig: Peters, 1894
371 1-bar transition by Hidas
372–374 Scherzo in A Major, Op. 45 (7–8, 31) Leipzig: Peters, 1894
375–377 Symphony No. 2, Movement II (28 [part 
of], 26–27)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
378–386 Scherzo in E Minor, Op. 19 (30–32 with 
cuts, 28–30 with cuts, repeated)
Leipzig: F. W. Garbrecht, s.a.
387–389 Symphony No. 2, Movement II (26–27 
without introduction)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
389 Die Königin von Saba, Act III (286 [first 
4 bars])
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
389 3-bar transition by Hidas
390–391 Symphony No. 2, Movement II (26–27 
without introduction)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
392–404 Aus Jugendtagen (23 [last 5 bars], 
“Langsamer” section–37, with repetition)
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
405–407 10-bar rounding-off by Hidas
408–418 Im Frühling (1–6; 17 [last bar]–18; 20 
[last 4 bars]–22 [bar 4])
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1890]
418 4 bar transition by Hidas
419–424 Die Königin von Saba, Act II (136–137, 
145–147, 152 to the end of Festmusik)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
425–430 Im Frühling (13–15 with cuts, repeated) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1890]
431–435 Die Königin von Saba, Overture (16–18, 
with repetition of 17–18)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.

De musica disserenda XIX/2 • 2023
190
Page num-
bering in 
the ballet 
score
Title of the Goldmark piece, original 
page numbering in the edition used by 
Seregi and his colleagues
*
The edition used by Seregi and 
his colleagues
436 Die Königin von Saba, Act III (286 [first 
4 bars])
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
437 Aus Jugendtagen (23 [5 bars from 
rehearsal number 23])
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
438–441 16 bars with upbeat: variation to the main 
theme of Aus Jugendtagen by Hidas for 
Lucentio
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
442 Die Königin von Saba, Act III (286 [first 
4 bars])
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
442 Die Königin von Saba, Act I (81 [2 bars 
of the Entrance March repeated])
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
443–444 Symphony No. 2, Movement II (26–27, 
without introduction)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1888]
445 Aus Jugendtagen (23 [5 bars from 
rehearsal number 23])
Leipzig/Wien: Ludwig Doblinger, 
1913
446–450 Symphony No. 1, “Ländliche Hochzeit”, 
Movement I (Coda, 65–67 repeated, first 
time only to 66, bar 2)
Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1877]
451 5-bar transition by Hidas (a rounding-off 
for the Coda)
452 Die Königin von Saba, Act III (286 [first 
4 bars])
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
452
[453–462 
deleted]
Die Königin von Saba, Act I (two bars of 
the Entrance March, repeated, 81)
Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
463–465 Die Königin von Saba, Act III (283–285) Hamburg: Hugo Pohle, s.a.
466–485 Finale: In Italien (41–42, 44–48, 58–70) Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1904
* 
As there are no bar numbers in the editions used, for the sake of easy identification I refer to 
the excerpts by page numbers.
†
 They used a handwritten score from the library of the Opera House. Page numbers in this table 
refer to the Doblinger edition.
Table
(continued)

191
Júlia Fedoszov: Programmatic Pieces Turned into a Ballet Score
Bibliography
Literature
Fodor, Antal. A koreográfia művészetének elmélete és gyakorlata. Győr: Magyar Kultúra 
Kiadó, 2018.
Goldmark, Carl. Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben. Vienna: Rikola, 1922.
Imely, Xénia. “Seregi László Shakespeare-trilógiája”. BA thesis, Magyar Táncművészeti 
Egyetem, 2011.
K., Cs. “Beszélgetés Seregi Lászlóval”. Magyar Nemzeti Balett 3, no. 1 (1998).
Körtvélyes, Géza. Művészet, tánc, táncművészet. Budapest: Planétás, 1999.
Pór, Anna. “A makrancos Kata: Seregi László új balettje a Magyar Állami Operaházban”. 
Táncművészet 25, nos. 1–12 (1994): 46–48.
Rajk András. “Derűmet – ha fogcsikorgatva is – máig megőriztem”. Népszabadság,  
8 June 1994.
Schnellné Szelőczey, Dóra. “Seregi László munkássága”. BA thesis, Magyar Táncművészeti 
Egyetem, 2000.
Film Recording
Seregi, László, Jr., dir. Seregi–Goldmark: A makrancos Kata; Szereposztástól a bemutatóig. 
Aired 11 June 1994, on Hungarian Television Channel 2.

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192
BALETNA PARTITURA IZ ORKESTRALNIH PROGRAMSKIH SKLADB: 
GLASBA ZA BALET UKROČENA TRMOGLAVKA S KOREOGRAFIJO  
LÁSZLA SEREGIJA
 
Povzetek 
Tretji balet madžarskega koreografa Lászla Seregija, ki temelji na Shakespearovem delu 
Ukročena trmoglavka, je premierno izvedbo doživel v budimpeški operi leta 1994. Seregi 
je sprva nameraval oblikovati koreografijo na glasbo Rossinija, Donizettija ali Auberja, 
toda po naključju je po radiu slišal uverturo Im Frühling (Spomladi) Carla Goldmarka, 
avstro-ogrskega skladatelja iz 19. stoletja. Po zaslugi tega nepričakovanega srečanja z 
Goldmarkovo glasbo se je odločil, da za svoj balet v treh dejanjih uporabi enajst njegovih 
skladb.
V nekaterih primerih je izbral daljše odlomke iz simfonij in uvertur, v drugih pa je vzel 
le tistih nekaj taktov, za katere je menil, da najbolj ustrezajo plesnemu gibu ali dogajanju 
v drami. Nato je moral te odlomke glasbeno zadovoljivo preplesti v partituro. Seregiju je 
pri tem pomagal skladatelj Frigyes Hidas, ki je napisal več sklopov dodatnih glasbenih 
taktov, s katerimi je povezal odlomke, napisane v različnih tonalitetah (podroben popis 
Goldmarkovih odlomkov in Hidasovega prispevka k baletni partituri je v prilogi razprave).
Prvotno je večina Goldmarkovih skladb, ki jih je izbral Seregi, imela program ali 
zgodbo. V novem okolju so nekatera glasbena dela uporabljena v skladu s programom 
izvirnih del, recimo Simfonija št. 1 »Ländliche Hochzeit« (Podeželska ohcet), op. 26, in 
uvertura In Italien (V Italiji), op. 49; prva spremlja poroko in druga orisuje italijansko 
okolje. Druge skladbe so uporabljene ironično, na primer koračnica iz Goldmarkove naj-
bolj znane opere Kraljica iz Sabe ter koncertni uverturi Prometej, op. 38, in Pentezileja, 
op. 31, kjer se glasba, napisana za resne, celo tragične dele, pojavi v smešnih situacijah. 
Čeprav je večina Goldmarkovih odlomkov izgubila svoj prvotni glasbeni kontekst in 
obliko, pa je med njimi tudi zanimiva izjema. Glasbeni primer št. 1 v tej razpravi kaže, 
kako domiselno je Seregi preobrazil scherzando in Trio iz tretjega stavka Goldmarkove 
Simfonije št. 2, ter ustvaril novo glasbeno obliko s tekočo spremljavo za poročni prizor 
na koncu drugega dejanja. V tretjem glasbenem primeru vidimo, kako je na Seregijevo 
prošnjo Hidas spremenil glavno temo Goldmarkove Aus Jugendtagen (Iz mladih dni) in 
jo uporabil za solo ples. Balet je bil velika uspešnica, dokazal je, da se glasbeni kolaž – nad 
katerim v glasbenih krogih običajno vihajo nosove – v nekaterih primerih lahko obnese 
odlično. Baletna partitura premore obilo umetniške avtentičnosti, ki izpodbija tradicionalne 
opredelitve glasbenega dela kot zaprte, individualne, organske celote, katere izvedba mora 
nujno odražati skladateljeve namene.